COVID-19 vaccinations have lagged in the pace that the current administration wanted, but the incoming Biden administration has set an ambitious goal of 100 million vaccinations in 100 days, and state officials say their ready for it.
Louisiana state health officer Dr. Joe Kanter says the people at the end of the process are not the hold-up.
"Every day, we hear providers, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies say 'we are ready to give vaccine to a large group of people. Just supply us,'" Dr. Kanter said. "A lot of people in the community, and at hospitals as well, are doing a lot of legwork now to prepare for the larger-scale, mass-volume vaccine events that we are eagerly awaiting, and the limiting factor is just how much vaccine we have available to do that."
Kanter says the state is working overtime to make sure it can handle massively increased capacity.
"We are, as the governor mentioned, doing everything we can to gear up for larger-volume vaccine events," said Dr. Kanter. "We've enrolled over 1,500 vaccine providers. That's going to pay dividends when we have more vaccine available."
But can the federal government deliver enough vaccine across the country to make it happen? Dr. Anthony Fauci, leader of the National Center for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, told NBC's Meet The Press Sunday that it is "absolutely a doable thing."
